Even if you don’t jump onto social media and tell all your friends and family you’re declaring a firm resolution to drop pounds or increase muscle, the new year is a chance to make a fresh start in being healthy. Nutrition is at the core of this kind of effort. Anyone who hasn’t gotten nutrition on track knows how impossible it is to out-exercise a bad diet. 

Luckily, in our area, there are plenty of options for nutritionally dense, well-sourced food whether you are planning to eat out or stay in and cook for yourself. Here are ideas for five restaurant items and two grocers in our area that can support your efforts.

Flower Child. Photo: Deborah Cameron

Eating Out? Our picks for healthy favorites

Morning Glory Cafe’s Buddha Bowl: One of the healthiest items you can find in the area is the Buddha Bowl at Lafayette’s Morning Glory Cafe. This vegan dish boasts eight colorful ingredients including black beans, vegetables, black rice, cheese, tofu, and cashew gravy. While not low-calorie, it’s a hearty dish packed with fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.  

Flower Child’s Butternut Squash and Organic Pear Salad: With a mission to promote safe, healthy eating and the tagline, “happy food for a happy world,” Flower Child is careful about what it serves. Located in Boulder at the Safeway plaza at Arapahoe Avenue and 29th St., we love the wintery, hearty butternut squash and pear salad with arugula, kale, ricotta, pecans, and puffed rice in a sherry dressing. 

Urban Thai’s Wonton Soup: Broth made right is one of the most nutritionally dense foods around and is at the core of all versions of wonton soup. Urban Thai’s version is more than just a tasty start to its meal. It’s a richer, more interesting version of what we’ve found at other places. It’s made us feel better when we’ve caught a winter cold, and we’re sure it can boost your nutrition anytime.

Zeal’s Inca Acai Bowl: Zeal is known for how deeply they care about what they serve and how they serve it, which makes them a natural fit on a list of restaurants that support healthy eating. While everything they offer supports nutrition, diners can’t go wrong by selecting their Inca Bowl, with maca, cacao, kale, and hemp hearts as well as anything you’d like from their menu of smoothie fruits, seeds, and other additions.

Huckleberry’s Garden Wrap: With its own farm located just off of Hwy 287 in Lafayette, Huckleberry’s commitment to quality is clear. Although lots of items at Louisville’s Huckleberry are decadently delicious, this Garden Wrap is a great choice for eating light. It includes hummus, carrot, spinach, tomato, cucumber, cheese, and a fresh-made buttermilk dill.

Flower Child interior. Photo: Deborah Cameron

Shopping for home? These two grocers curate everything on their shelves

Nude Foods: Freshly opened last year on Walnut Street, this grocer is focused on reducing food waste however it can. Fruits and vegetables that are discarded by other grocers because they don’t look ‘perfect’ are sold here, where shoppers reap the nutritional benefits. Staples, like coffee and peanut butter, milk, and bread are carefully chosen to meet high standards. While they pay close attention to what’s on their shelves, they care just as much about the packaging, looking for ways to reduce waste and other impacts on the environment.

Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers: Founded by the Isley family in 1955, this grocer is beyond conscientious about what reaches their shelves. They’ve got plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, options for carefully sourced meats and an array of non-meat items that help vegetarians keep meals interesting, as well as packaged items for nights you don’t have time to cook but still want to keep things healthy. And every store includes their vitamins, minerals, and supplements and retains the services of its own nutritionist, who shoppers can book an appointment with for a free consultation.